Only One Love (Only One 7)

"That is so cute," I tell him, and I want to reach out and hold his hand. "If you want, I can try to get you a signed jersey." He rolls his eyes now. "Your turn."

"Who is your hero?" he asks, and without even thinking about it, I answer him.

"My parents. Hands down, I want to be my mother as a mom. Hands down, and then my dad. It’s been a touch rocky with him the past couple of months,” I say, trying to fight back the tears. "He’s just the rock in our family." I look down at my hands.

"I wish I had even one percent of that," he shares, and I look up at him. His family is off-limits, and I know this, yet he is talking to me about it, and I don’t know what to say. "I never met my father." His words hit me like a kick in the stomach. "I mean, I think I met him when I was three or two." He looks up. "My mother was his paralegal, and well, one thing led to another, and out came me. Don’t get me wrong, he took care of his ‘responsibilities,’" he says, using his fingers for the quotation marks. "And when he died, he left me a huge chunk of money. I guess everyone parents in their own way.”

"Wilson," I say his name softly, but he holds up his hand.

"It is what it is." He shrugs, and he gets up now. "Thank you for letting me stay tonight." I get up and walk over to him.

"Thank you for bringing me dinner," I say softly. "No one has ever done this before." I look up at him, my heart beating in my chest. I want to reach up and touch his cheek, but more than anything, I want him to kiss me.

"Well, then," he says. His hand comes up, and I’m waiting for him to touch my cheek, but instead, he drops it just as fast as it rose. "I’m glad I came. Have a great night, Franny." He turns and walks out of my office.

I watch his broad back and firm ass walk away from me, and the only thing that comes out of my mouth is, “He didn’t even kiss me. What the fuck?" I fold my arms over my chest. "What kind of bullshit is this?"

Chapter 16

Wilson

I step into the elevator, and it’s like the air just goes out of me. My heart races in my chest as my head falls forward. This whole night was something I would never have expected. I went with the intention to have dinner with her, and in the end, I told her things no one knows. And I mean no one.

The ping of the elevator makes my feet move out into the lobby. I look up, wondering if I should go back. I just left her there with all that mess to clean up. But after she told me about her family and I told her about my father, it was clear to me that we come from two opposite ends of the world. It also showed me that she probably deserves better. When she stood in front of me, and my hand came up, I wanted to cup her cheek and then bend to kiss her, but instead, my head told me to walk away.

I play the conversation over and over in my head. I see her smile, and I can hear her laughter as I drive home. My phone rings as soon as I park in my driveway, and I see it’s her.

"Hello," I say, putting her on speaker as I sit in my garage.

"What the fuck was that?" I can tell she’s angry. She also doesn’t even give me a chance to say anything before she continues. "You didn’t even try to cop a feel? You didn’t even try to kiss me? What is this bullshit?"

I laugh. "One, I offered you plan A, but you chose plan B." I close my eyes, and I love her voice.

"I chose plan B, but you could have put in some of plan A in there," she huffs out, and I hear a door closing.

"Are you home?" I ask her.

"Yes, after I packed up the Chinese food and put it in the fridge, I came home," she says, and the clicking of her heels stops, so I know she took them off. "Now, don’t change the subject, Wilson. What the fuck was that?"

"I didn’t know it was okay to kiss you." I really wish I could go back in time and take the kiss that I wanted so bad.

"At the end of a date, you kiss or have sex," she explains. "One or the other."

I laugh now. "Are you sure about that?"

"No," she huffs out, and I get out of my truck and walk into my house. I wonder if she is undressing or if she’s getting naked. "I have no idea. I don’t date."